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Romeo and Juliet (a first time intro to the orginal text plus No Fear Shakespeare)

The Phantom Tollbooth

Bridge to Terabithia

I always do a poetry unit and a Dr. Seuss....These are the Novel Units that I use to for a Language Arts program that includes everything from spelling to grammar and multiple writing assignments from the same book. She also reads recreationally on her own, picking what ever she likes.

What is the "Phantom Tollbooth" about, do you know? That sounds like one both of my kids might be intetested in.

Quoting craftyzenmom:

My 11 year old daughter is in 6th grade and we're doing:

The Giver (I always start 6th grade with this book)

Aesop's Fables

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Gilgamesh (to go along with history curriculum)

Romeo and Juliet (a first time intro to the orginal text plus No Fear Shakespeare)

The Phantom Tollbooth

Bridge to Terabithia

I always do a poetry unit and a Dr. Seuss....These are the Novel Units that I use to for a Language Arts program that includes everything from spelling to grammar and multiple writing assignments from the same book. She also reads recreationally on her own, picking what ever she likes.

I've got a few Sunshine State books that I ordered for my girls. They sounded great. We have The Adventures of a South Pole Pig and Hooper coming. There were a few others that sounded cute. We are also reading Ivy and Bean (probably not going to interest your son....this series is about two 8 yo girls). I also want to have them read a few Newberry award books like the Maniac Mcgee and a couple others. I'm trying to expand their horizons. I think we are going to get to a point where they pick a book and then I pick the next one. I want really well rounded readers. LOL

My copy has disappeared off the Language Arts shelf again.... it's a great book for reading over and over again which I suspect one of the teen-agers is doing. Here's a synopsis from the internet:

The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's adventure novel and modern fairy tale by Norton Juster. It was published in 1961 with illustrations by Jules Feiffer. It tells the story of a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth one afternoon and, having nothing better to do, decides to drive through it in his toy car. The tollbooth transports him to a land called the Kingdom of Wisdom. There he acquires two faithful companions, has many adventures, and goes on a quest to rescue the princesses of the kingdom—Princess Rhyme and Princess Reason—from the castle in the air. The text is full of puns, and many events, such as Milo's jump to the Island of Conclusions, exemplify literal meanings of English languageidioms.

It's a magnificent book for teaching Language Arts, it's so full of so many amazing opportunities.

Lol .. I know what you mean. I want my kids to have well rounded interests in their reading materials. I

Quoting coala:

I've got a few Sunshine State books that I ordered for my girls. They sounded great. We have The Adventures of a South Pole Pig and Hooper coming. There were a few others that sounded cute. We are also reading Ivy and Bean (probably not going to interest your son....this series is about two 8 yo girls). I also want to have them read a few Newberry award books like the Maniac Mcgee and a couple others. I'm trying to expand their horizons. I think we are going to get to a point where they pick a book and then I pick the next one. I want really well rounded readers. LOL

That sounds like a story for both my of kids. I hope I can get the book. Thanks for the overview! :)

Quoting craftyzenmom:

My copy has disappeared off the Language Arts shelf again.... it's a great book for reading over and over again which I suspect one of the teen-agers is doing. Here's a synopsis from the internet:

The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's adventure novel and modern fairy tale by Norton Juster. It was published in 1961 with illustrations by Jules Feiffer. It tells the story of a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth one afternoon and, having nothing better to do, decides to drive through it in his toy car. The tollbooth transports him to a land called the Kingdom of Wisdom. There he acquires two faithful companions, has many adventures, and goes on a quest to rescue the princesses of the kingdom—Princess Rhyme and Princess Reason—from the castle in the air. The text is full of puns, and many events, such as Milo's jump to the Island of Conclusions, exemplify literal meanings of English languageidioms.

It's a magnificent book for teaching Language Arts, it's so full of so many amazing opportunities.

Some of these are ones I loved at that age, and others are ones I am sharing with my boys now:

For 11 year old daughter :

Wrinkle in Time (If they like "The Phantom Tollbooth" she would probably like this. The first chapter is really slow and hard to get through, but after that, goes quickly and is just an amazingly deep and fun story).

If she's mature enough for it, The Hungar Games. It brings up some great topics for conversation (and honestly, I think this is a really literary quality book. I wouldn't be surprized if this is still being read 100 years from now.) But you will want to read it first to see if it is too mature, cuase theres some definate issues about it you'll want to talk with with your daughter. (I was planning to read this before I let my 11 year old son read it, to see if he was ready...but he found the book and was half way through it before I realized he had it. OOPS. But I'm glad he read it. Made for some great conversations with him, and I do think he was ready.

For 8 Year Old Son:

Magic Treehouse (great for teaching History too...my son's love...I'd suggest for your daughter too but might be aimed at a little too young for her).

For Both:

Indian in the Cupboard

The Hobbit (may be a bit hard for the 8 year old depending on his reading ability)

Holes (read it first to approve content...there's a few things in it you may want to talk with your kids about, but overall great book. It has very simple vocabulary, but the story is very complex).

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Origami Yoda (if they like Star Wars. My son's adore this series...and I do too. They are hilarious and well-written).

We are doing a lot of ebooks so most of them are in my kindle. I don't remember all the names since they are all in my collection section so I don't forget.

21 balloons
teach relativity to your dog
Story of mankind
archimedes
famous men of greece, rome, and modern times
famous scientists
history of England by charles dickens
Courage of sarah noble
Probably many more I am forgetting

We are currently reading A long way from Chicago and my son is loving it. It is so hilarious. I was reading it outloud and my husband was cracking up as well. The Grandma is hilarious and also not to be messed with.

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